If you have been fortunate enough to grace a lottery draw, ruffle draw event or bingo room (where large bets are placed), you will know that people react differently when they win big. Some can’t contain the happiness inside and they end up screaming, shouting or crying out aloud. Some are simply tongue tied and they just take it all in quietly. Well, in poker, there is another expression done by big winners and it’s known as a slow roll.
A slow roll or slow rolling is an act that sees the player who possesses a winning hand (though not yet exposed but the nature of the cards in hand demonstrating that there can’t be any better hand in the hands of competing players) taking long to reveal his winning hand. When slow rolling, the player may give a false sense of hope to the competing players as they may think the player is about to fold.
Instances Where the Player May Slow Roll
- Often, slow rolling happens when players have a probable big winning hand at the end of the game and take a long to turn over the cards to show their winning hand.
- Some may take things further by verbally expressing that they are disappointed at their hand (giving false hope) and possibly admit defeat and when all the fellow competing players get that sense of hope, things change as the player reveals a winning hand
- Players in need of understanding what is a slow roll in poker need to note that they can employ the technique when they pause on the river after facing a big bet or all in.
Why Many People Frown Upon Slow Rolling
While slow rolling is not technically illegal, it’s largely frowned upon by many. This is largely necessitated by the fact that it elongates the gaming session while a winner is already in place. To compound the matter, slow rolling is a psychological duress that is cruel to the losing players as they have to bear waiting for a long to take the loss in. Those who like to slow roll after a win also should shun it because slow rolling is one of the key factors which ignite fistfights in casinos as the losing players won’t have the patience to bear seeing someone ‘boast’ in front of them after ‘taking’ their money. There is thus a need for all poker players to know what is a slot roll in poker and avoid it at all times to prevent encountering scuffles in the casino.
